MMRCA, IAF chief states the selection process was transparent and fair

“Right in the beginning when this deal was going through, I had said that whoever we select, the others would always be dissatisfied. So I think it is a case of that..
As far as the entire process of the MMRCA selection is concerned I think it is one of the finest things the Air Force has ever done. 

There was no security breach, a very fair treatment was given to everybody, every vendor briefed as per RFP and in fact the process has gone so well and so timely that I would like to patent that process..After all these were six of the best aircraft in the world...very little difference in all these, very difficult to decide which is the best, ultimately what suits our country - the best has to emerge as the best. That doesn't mean the other aircraft are bad,.
The process was very elaborate. As you are aware each aircraft had 600 testing points. So the whole thing went through in a very professional manner and I must compliment the team that undertook this task - very well done,”

Eurofighter very touchy after Rafale team claims superiority

It seems that the trench war has begun between the Eurofigter and Rafale teams. The Eurofighter web site is trying to discard the Dassault and Thales claims stating that the European consortium was a "cooperation of incompetencies" and that the Selex AESA radar was 5 years behind the RBE-2 AESA :

"With Thales claiming to be five years more advanced in AESA radar technology than its competitors with its future Rafale radar and with Dassault claiming that the Eurofighter programme is an example of incompetencies, the French look to be on the defensive."

Well, reading this I would rather say that the Rafale team is on the offensive. Anyway, if it is true that Dassault's claim is rather crual, there is nevertheless some truth in it. Indeed, it is a known fact that the Eurofighter project has been delayed by serious technical issues due to the fact that each company involved wanted workshare on technologies they did not master. As a result, the program is very late and more expensive than the Rafale despite a much larger development team and a higher production rate.

As for the Thales statement, The first RBE-2 production radar has been delivered in 2010 and the first production Captor-E is now expected in 2014 if there is no delay. So that's, at minimum, a 4 years gap (may be not technology wise but at least in term of availability for the export market). Ok, that's not 5 years, but not far from it nevertheless. In fact the Eurofighter team is now in a hurry to field this new radar in order to keep the gap with the RBE-2 as small as possible because any delay will be seen a major setback by export customers. 

The next paragraph is an attempt to boast about the Eurofighter ecomical achievement while in fact the figures tell  more about how slow and inefficient the program has been compared to the Rafale :

"For a programme like Eurofighter which has a huge economic impact in the four partner nations with 100,000 long-term jobs secured, 400 large, medium and small companies participating in the programme, 280 aircraft delivered (just six less than the total number of Rafale planned - but not ordered yet – and to be produced in total!) from a planned 707, six air force customers included two export nations, in-service in 16 units across Europe, Asia and South America, 120,000 flying hours flown, and total operational and combat proven as multi-role platform, these claims by the French look to be more a sign of weakness than of strength"

The "280 aircrafts delivered" statement is interesting because that's in fact a weakness when you consider that there are 4 assembly lines. So, that's an average of 70 planes per assembly line which is 30% less than the Rafale assembly line that has produced more than 100 aircrafts.

Then there is the wild assumption that 707 eurofighters will be ordered and produced. The reality is less shinny when all the partners nations are reducing their orders or using some of their batch as a reserve for export customers.

I will not come back on the boasting about the Eurofighter chassing sea gulls in the Falklands (South america units), nor will I smile to the "combat proven and total operational multirole platform" claim which seems a bit exaggerated for a plane that has merely demonstrated timid LGB strike capabilities. So much Eurofigters (remember, 280) in service but so few actual operational usefulness (what about stand off strike, Sead and recce capabilities ?) ... 

Eventually, such a limited achievement can only be considered as a disappointment for a workforce that large (remember, 100,000 jobs, 400 companies).

The last sentence is precious :
"So, no JSF for India, no marketing leading radar for Thales and no satisfaction for a programme like the Rafale that should concentrate on delivering a better return to the French taxpayer than on attacking its competitors."

Right, no JSF for India, but JSF for UK and Italy to fill the eurofighter capability gaps.
The French taxpayer is most probably very pleased with an aircraft that can conduct all missions, today, even from an aircraft carrier and during the first day of a conflict.

MMRCA, revised bids submited

Rafale fuselage assembly line, Argenteuil - © Dassault Aviation

According to DefenseWorld.net, Dassault and Eurofighter Gmbh have submitted their revised offset bids last June 17th :

[...]
A source from one of the bidders told Defenseworld.net at the Paris Air Show 2011 that the updated offset bids included individual MoUs with third part equipment providers which supply critical equipment such as engine, avionics and other critical systems. Earlier offset propsal submitted had only offset commitments on the part of the bidders who are essentially platform integrators.

      The Indian MoD has not given any timeframe for their next engagement with Dassault and Eurofighter, the sources said adding that they expect to hear from the customer within the next 2-3 months. After the studying the offset proposals, the MoD will call the two bidders for final discussions on price/contract performance and select one among them.

      "The revised offset bids include 50% direct engagements with Indian companies such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), and several other Indian private groups such as the Tatas, Mahindras, L & T and others", said the source.
[...]

Le Bourget 2011, color HUD video

Le collimateur tête haute numérique

commentary translation :

Title : World premiere - digital 2-colors HUD
Guillaume Grasset
Rafale simulation trial ingineer
fighter pilot - Flight test center, Istres

"I present the 2-color digital HUD prototype which is a world premiere
First, the HUD is the most important flight instrument for a fighter pilot. It allows the pilot to visualize a maximum of flight data without having to look inside the cockpit.
What's new compared to an analogic monochrome HUD are the 3D ground display and the full field high definition video display allowing to fly day or night with low visibility.. Morever, the tracing is more accurate, the font can be changed, higlighting or flat area are possible. But the greatest novelty, the technological breakthrough, is the addition of the red color. The DGA role is to help the manufacturers to develop this prototype and assess this technology"

Thales Brings Consistency to Rafale Radar

By: Bernard Fitzsimons

June 21, 2011

Thales is “five years ahead of anybody in Europe or the U.S.” in active arrays for airborne radars, according to Jean-Nöel Stock, Thales vice-president UAVs and intelligence, and a former program director for Dassault Rafale airborne systems.

Speaking earlier this month at Thales Airborne Systems’ radar and mission systems facility in Pessac, Bordeaux, where he is also site director, Stock said one of the strengths of the Rafale program is that most of the electronics come from a single company. “The consistency we bring to the electronics means the pilot has a system that is fully integrated,” he said.[...]

Read the full article on http://www.ainonline.com/

Best of Saint Dizier Airshow

Despite the lunatic weather of last weekend, many talented photographers managed to take awsome pictures of the Rafale demo.

Here is a quick selection of the best one :



Picture credits :
Bruno Delière
Chirs Young
Tony Draps
Fanaviation
Fanaviation #2
JP_mach2
Peter Emmert
Philippe Noret
Gnolpi
Gulivers
Matthias Senand
Thierry Gay
Nicolas Delattre

Libya, Rafale stats

Defense journalist, Jean Dominique Merchet, has published some interresting statistics concerning the Rafale missions in Libya :

Weapon specialists load a GBU on the Rafale M23

• 3 months of non stop operation
• more than 700 sorties
• 3800 flight hours
• 5h30 of average mission time
• up to 28 Rafale engaged at the same time
• several Rafale have loged more than130 flight hours in one month (one of them has even reached 140h in a month)

Weapon specialists prepare a scalp cruise missile

weapons fired :

• 10 scalps
• 182 AASM bombs
• 116 GBU
• 300 recce sorties